From idiot from kelbv.sigh Tue Dec 9 10:58:26 2008 From: idiot from kelbv.sigh (kelbv) Date: Tue Dec 9 17:26:17 2008 Subject: [Biophysics] Re: melting wood References: <329a0ca4-3e31-4ea7-9953-1a240f83fa8b@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com> Message-ID: "Dr Engelbert Buxbaum" wrote in news:op.uf4xy2do66vu6s@bengelbert-dm.rusm.rossu.loc: > Am 12.08.2008, 22:58 Uhr, schrieb Olli Holliday > : > >> I am trying to find further information about melting wood, all I've >> found so far are messages from this forum from 1994, 1999 and 2003 >> that seem to be without any follow-up. >> >> has any progress been made on this topic in the years since the last >> post? > > Wood is mainly composed of cellulose and lignin. These macromolecules > do not melt, but decompose when heated, producing charcoal. Ok, you may be right, but couldn't we just produce wood with other chemicals that do melt? Or, if that's not likely, could there be a way of creating a genetically modified wood that did melt? I'm not a scientist, but I know that at least some people out there are scientists. I really would love to see molten wood in my lifetime (however long that turns out to be). I'd be really grateful for any further information! Cheers, Kelvin From biospace from noster-it.com Tue Dec 30 00:19:58 2008 From: biospace from noster-it.com (biospace) Date: Tue Dec 30 13:29:38 2008 Subject: [Biophysics] Pressure/Patch-Clamp Methods Message-ID: <88f94aa9-b9b5-431b-a443-859b3ab40f64@w1g2000prm.googlegroups.com> It is approaching 20 years since the introduction of the single- channel patch-clamp recording technique (Neher and Sakmann, 1976), and over the last two decades its refinements and diverse applications have served to maintain it as the dominant technique in membrane physiology (Neher, 1992; Sakmann, 1992). Historical accounts of the development of the technique have been given (Sigworth, 1986), and an extensive literature exists detailing and updating various aspects of the method (Sakmann and Neher, 1983, 1995; and this volume). In this chapter we focus on a critical yet some-what neglected aspect of the method, namely the magnitude and time course of the suction/pressure applied to the patch and its consequent effects on membrane and channel properties. Although suction is most often used in obtaining the tight seal, it has also been shown that excessive suction alters the properties of specific membrane ion channels (Hamill and McBride, 1992). In particular we describe here recent development of pressure clamp techniques that allow the application of precise and rapid suction/pressure steps to membrane patches and whole cells (McBride and Hamill, 1992, 1993, 1995). Tonny -------------- More bio-med news & videos Portal to share biological information-data between people http://biospace.ethz.ch